WILLCARE JOINS HEALTHeLINK

Fourth area home health agency to provide clinical data to Western New York’s health information exchange

BUFFALO, NEW YORK – WILLCARE, a home health care company has joined HEALTHeLINK, Western New York’s clinical information exchange as a data source. Participating physicians now have access to admission, discharge and transfer notices and diabetic measures from WILLCARE patients who have authorized their HEALTHeLINK consent.

“Thanks in part to the Beacon Community grant, HEALTHeLINK has been able to build and strengthen Western New York’s health information technology infrastructure by connecting additional health care sources to expand the amount of data available to participating physicians through our health information exchange,” said Dan Porreca, HEALTHeLINK’s executive director. “With increased data, physicians are able to view a more complete picture of their patients’ body of information at the point of care to determine the most effective and timely treatment, which can enhance patient safety and control health care costs”

A portion of the funding provided to HEALTHeLINK and Western New York through the Beacon Community program by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is being used to connect additional data sources, including home health agencies, long term care facilities, and rural hospitals. WILLCARE is the fourth home health agency that has connected to HEALTHeLINK as a data source.

"WILLCARE is excited to join the HEALTHeLINK collaborative to enhance communication and information across the continuum of health care providers in WNY,” said Todd Brason, WILLCARE’s Chief Executive Officer. “WILLCARE is committed to providing the best possible care for our patients, and the pre-authorized sharing of medical information will be invaluable in meeting the medical needs of our patients and providing optimum care across multiple care settings.”

WILLCARE is a Medicare certified and New York State licensed/private duty home health care company, headquartered in Buffalo, NY and accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program. WILLCARE is a comprehensive provider of home health care services that include skilled nursing, rehabilitation therapies, home health aides, Lend-A-Friend™ companions, and supportive services in Western New York, the Hudson Valley region, Connecticut, and Northeast Ohio. For more information visit www.willcare.com.

Nearly 500,000 Western New Yorkers have already given their health care providers better access to the information they need by signing a HEALTHeLINK consent form. For more information on HEALTHeLINK or to obtain a consent form, visit www.wnyhealthelink.com.

HEALTHeLINK, the Western New York Clinical Information Exchange, is a collaboration among the region’s hospitals, physicians, health plans and other health care providers to serve the eight counties of western New York State. HEALTHeLINK was created to enable the exchange of clinical information in secure and meaningful ways to improve both efficiency and quality, while also helping to control health care costs. Patients who provide consent allow physicians and providers directly involved in their treatment to securely access relevant medical information via HEALTHeLINK, resulting in more timely and effective treatment at the point of care.

HEALTHeLINK has been recognized for its work in building a regional health information technology infrastructure and for testing innovative approaches by both state and federal agencies, including being named a Beacon Community, an effort funded by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. For more information about HEALTHeLINK, please visit www.wnyhealthelink.com.